STATEMENT: Anti-corruption experts say govt. should seize opportunity to restore trust in our political system
**For immediate release**
The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition welcomes the UK Government's new changes to political finance laws, but calls on the government to work with experts to develop bolder measures needed to protect and strengthen our democracy.
Thursday 24 July 2025 — On Friday, the government released its Elections Bill White Paper. The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition welcomes many of its provisions – particularly those that stamp out dark money, and introduce new controls to protect our democracy from foreign interference. These announcements are in large part the result of many years of advocacy by our members, and mark an important first step towards shoring up our democracy against the risks of foreign interference.
However, if the government truly seeks to ‘restore trust in our political system’ in line with manifesto commitments, it should seize this opportunity to restore the independence of its electoral watchdog, and properly address the growing influence of mega donors in our politics.
To that end, the government should:
Restore the independence of the Electoral Commission by removing the government of the day’s ability to set policy objectives, to future-proof the integrity of elections.
Introduce limits on the size of individual donations so no billionaire can buy our democracy.
Reduce election spending limits to stop political parties from engaging in an ever-increasing arms race.
Ensure the Electoral Commission has powers to regulate crypto donations and investigate social media spending to ensure free and fair elections.
Close the criminal enforcement gap by empowering and resourcing specialist law enforcement units to go after those committing political financial crimes.
In the coming months, we look forward to working with the government to address these issues and more to ensure the Bill is drafted in line with their stated ambition to ‘uphold the integrity of our elections.’
Dr Sue Hawley, Co-Chair of the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition, said:
“This strategy is an important first step in the long fight to protect and strengthen our politics against malign influences – there are some welcome changes around ‘Know Your Donor’ checks for political parties and new rules around company donations. But the tenets of a healthy democracy – free and fair elections, equal influence over electoral outcomes, and transparency – remain at stake.
“That’s why it’s critical that the government fully restores the independence of the Electoral Commission, takes further steps to protect UK elections from the distorting influence of multi-million pound donations, and addresses the criminal enforcement gap for political finance offences. We look forward to working with civil servants and the government to address these issues.”
Notes to Editors:
In 2023, 66% of private political donations came from just 19 mega donors.
Spending at the 2024 UK general election reached a record high of £94.5 million - £21.9 million higher than in 2019 (a 30% increase).
The Elections Act 2022 undermined the independence of the Electoral Commission by giving ministers powers to direct its priorities through a Strategy and Policy Statement, compromising its ability to act as an impartial regulator. Whilst in Opposition, the Labour Party opposed the Conservative Government’s power grab over the Electoral Commission – the main watchdog that oversees elections and party financing.
The Electoral Commission has continued to publicly oppose its lack of independence from ministerial influence. In response to the White Paper, it stated: “[w]e remain opposed to the principle of a strategy and policy statement, by which a government can guide our work. The independence and impartiality of an electoral commission must be clear for voters and campaigners to see, and this form of influence from a government is inconsistent with that role. This bill offers a timely opportunity to repeal the power for government to designate a statement.”
China and Russia spent over $300 million to influence democratic processes in at least 33 countries between 2010 and 2020, with 30 “financial attacks” a year since 2016. New concerns have arisen about foreign interference from organisations or individuals that hold extreme views who may seek to donate to UK political parties despite not being eligible to do so.